Semiconductor fabrication continues to strive to make individual electronic components smaller and smaller, resulting in ever denser integrated circuitry. One type of integrated circuitry comprises memory circuitry where information is stored in the form of binary data. The circuitry can be fabricated such that the data is volatile or non-volatile. Volatile storing memory devices result in loss of data when power is interrupted. Non-volatile memory circuitry retains the stored data even when power is interrupted.
This invention was principally motivated in making improvements to the design and operation of memory circuitry disclosed in the Kozicki et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,761,115; 5,896,312; 5,914,893; and 6,084,796, which ultimately resulted from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/652,706, filed on May 30, 1996, disclosing what is referred to as a programmable metalization cell. Such a cell includes opposing electrodes having an insulating dielectric material received therebetween. Received within the dielectric material is a fast ion conductor material. The resistance of such material can be changed between highly insulative and highly conductive states. In its normal high resistive state, to perform a write operation, a voltage potential is applied to a certain one of the electrodes, with the other of the electrode being held at zero voltage or ground. The electrode having the voltage applied thereto functions as an anode, while the electrode held at zero or ground functions as a cathode. The nature of the fast ion conductor material is such that it undergoes a chemical and structural change at a certain applied voltage. Specifically, at some suitable threshold voltage, plating of metal from metal ions within the material begins to occur on the cathode and grows or progresses through the fast ion conductor toward the other anode electrode. With such voltage continued to be applied, the process continues until a single conductive dendrite or filament extends between the electrodes, effectively interconnecting the top and bottom electrodes to electrically short them together.
Once this occurs, dendrite growth stops, and is retained when the voltage potentials are removed. Such can effectively result in the resistance of the mass of fast ion conductor material between electrodes dropping by a factor of 1,000. Such material can be returned to its highly resistive state by reversing the voltage potential between the anode and cathode, whereby the filament disappears. Again, the highly resistive state is maintained once the reverse voltage potentials are removed. Accordingly, such a device can, for example, function as a programmable memory cell of memory circuitry.
The preferred resistance variable material received between the electrodes typically and preferably comprises a chalcogenide material having metal ions diffused therein. A specific example is germanium selenide with silver ions. The present method of providing the silver ions within the germanium selenide material is to initially deposit the germanium selenide glass without any silver being received therein. A thin layer of silver is thereafter deposited upon the glass, for example by physical vapor deposition or other technique. An exemplary thickness is 200 Angstroms or less. The layer of silver is irradiated, preferably with electromagnetic energy at a wavelength less than 500 nanometers. The thin nature of the deposited silver enables such energy to pass through the silver to the silver/glass interface effective to break a chalcogenide bond of the chalcogenide material, thereby effecting dissolution of silver into the germanium selenide glass. The applied energy and overlying silver result in the silver migrating into the glass layer such that a homogenous distribution of silver throughout the layer is ultimately achieved.
It can be challenging to etch and to chemical-mechanical polish metal ion containing chalcogenide materials. Accordingly it would be desirable to develop memory cell fabrication methods which avoid one or both of etching or polishing such materials. It would also be desirable to develop alternate methods from that just described which incorporate the metal ions into chalcogenide materials. While the invention was principally motivated in achieving objectives such as these, the invention is in no way so limited. The artisan will appreciate applicability of the invention in other aspects of processing involving chalcogenide materials, with the invention only being limited by the accompanying claims as literally worded and as appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.